BEDKNOBS & BAUBLES

Well, I certainly didn’t expect to take a week-long hiatus from the blog! We spent just about every waking hour Saturday through Wednesday painting the house, did additional painting Thursday evening, and again Friday afternoon. We’re going to swing by the house this morning to do some small touch-up work and then clean up the house so that we’re ready for the floor guy at 7 a.m. on Monday, and then we’re off to Summerfest in Milwaukee for the night! There’s still plenty more to paint (upstairs hallway, all the trim upstairs, and doors), but we need a break and floor refinishing couldn’t have come at a better time. I can’t tell you how excited we are to spend the next week relaxing, not inhaling paint fumes, and getting a good start on packing up the apartment. Plus, I miss having time to blog! We’ll have another Curated Couple post up soon with photos of our painting progress.

Weekend Reading:

• I just love this dress on Lydia.
• Hey, Gilmore Girls fans, Scott Patterson is developing his own brand of coffee. We’re thisclose to basically being at Luke’s Diner.
• With sales falling flat thanks to the Greek yogurt craze, Yoplait had to learn to manufacture authenticity with its latest effort: French yogurt.
• And, it seems that Yoplait might be on to something given the billion-dollar industry around the “French girl.”
• Exercise leggings with pockets! Finally!
• Did you know there was a Dior cookbook?!
• Catharine Becket has any bauble-lover’s dream job as a jewelry specialist at Sotheby’s.
• The latest earrings to capture my fancy.
• Ceiling fans don’t have to be ugly.
• There’s a new theory (with possible photographic evidence) that Amelia Earhart may have survived.

Five Under $50:

• A pair of earrings that combine classic hoops with trendy thread-wrapped balls.
• I’m all about swingy camisoles on hot days.
• A chambray shift dress with a flattering shape.
• A vintage-inspired souvenir scarf.
• The latest book on my must-have list.

Photo by Syd Sujuaan on Unsplash

I’m taking a bit of a blog hiatus while we get some more work done in the house over the weekend. My parents are coming to Madison this weekend to help paint and tackle a handful of other projects in the house for us (like changing all of the outlets and switches to white, teaching us to take door handles completely apart so we can try to get the paint off of the brass hardware, and repairing the rope in one of our sash windows). It seems like everywhere we look, there’s another project looming. It’s hard to keep it all in perspective and remember that all we really need to get done this weekend is paint the rooms with hardwood floors — and if we don’t, then we just cover the newly finished floors and take extra care in keeping them pristine. In any case, I probably won’t be back on the blog until Wednesday or Thursday of next week. I extended the holiday weekend through July 5 and took a few days  of PTO at work in order to dedicate time to the house. If your curious about the progress, I’ll be adding snapshots to the Instagram story over on @curatedcouple! (We put one coat of paint on our wood paneling — er, “vertical shiplap” — in the office last night and it already looks better than I imagined! We’re going all white in that room with the walls and trim, which was going be the case with the wood paneled master bedroom, too. It looks gorgeous, but I’m going to add a deep peacock blue or navy accent wall in the bedroom to break up the monotony.)

Weekend Reading:

• Have you tried Noosa Yoghurt yet? I’m all about yogurt in the morning and this has quickly become my favorite brand. (#NotSponsored)
• These pencil shaving earrings are more for admiring than buying (unless you have $9k floating around). They’re so unique!
• Paper straws are great for an Instagram, but not so much actually sipping on a cocktail.
• There’s an extra 30% off sale items at Anthro this weekend! As you’d expect, I’m scouring the home section. I just love the colors of this serving platter.
• African American girls are viewed as less innocent as their white counterparts as early as five years old.
• Thirteen summer wedding trends to avoid.
• If you’re color shy, here are a few ideas to add a bit of pigment to your home.
• I’ve been itching to go to D.C. over Labor Day weekend if our budget can swing it, and I’d love to see the exhibit on Marlene Dietrich at the National Portrait Gallery. This piece touches on her androgynous appeal.
• This dress would look so cute with a pair of casual slide sandals and oversize earrings (love these!).
• Sip on pineapple rum punch this weekend. Best of all, you only need three ingredients!
• Nail art usually borders on tacky, but this Independence Day manicure is ultra chic!

Five under $50:

• These raffia earrings are the perfect way to add a bit of color to your summer wardrobe.
• The painterly stripes on this tank top are so good. Tuck it into a fit-and-flare skirt.
• The metal ring handle on this bag makes it look more expensive than it is.
• Pretty embroidery elevates a simple sundress.
• Get in on the circle beach towel trend!

ICYMI:

• We’ve made a lot of progress on the house already! Peek into some of our rooms and see where things are at over here. (The fun stuff like decorating seems so far away right now!)
• I managed to buy only two things this month.
• Baubles on a budget.